CSU Athletics

Jim McElwain finds new home in Fort Collins and at CSU

Colorado State University head coach Jim McElwain's family moved into a Fort Collins home last week, and the coach is settling into his life at CSU. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

FORT COLLINS — Jim McElwain felt at home in Fort Collins before he had one.

The new Colorado State football coach and his family moved into a Fort Collins house last week, one of the final steps in the job transition for the former Alabama offensive coordinator. McElwain and his wife, Karen, have two daughters, JoHanna and Elizabeth, and a son, Jerret, who joined his father in Fort Collins this spring and finished up his sophomore year at Rocky Mountain High School.

While the boxes were being unpacked at the McElwain home, incoming players enrolled in summer school arrived on campus, many of them with their parents. Karen McElwain managed to pull off acting as hostess for a reception at the house.

"These couple of days I take off in July, I'm totally dedicated to her," McElwain said with a smile in his office. "I said, 'If you want me to go to a movie, I'll even go!' "

Also, the new leader was gearing up this week to coach in the Jim McElwain Quarterback Academy, beginning today and running through Saturday as part of the staff's on-campus instructional camps for young players.

McElwain's charge from CSU president Tony Frank and new athletic director Jack Graham, of course, is to turn the football program around and enhance the school's national profile. The Montana native's college coaching stops before Alabama included Eastern Washington, Montana State, Michigan State and Fresno State.

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"I feel genuinely involved with this as an important facet of this campus, not as the only important thing," McElwain said. "I've been at both ends of the spectrum, and I've seen what a quality product in athletics can be to help the entire campus. I was a faculty member. I was on a tenured track. I get it.

"Since I've been on campus here, I've spoken to a couple of classes and really enjoyed that. So sitting over here in this office now, I feel like I'm one of them here. This place will sell itself with its excellence, from the faculty to the president, and with all the departments on campus. What we really need to do is expose the country to what a great place this is."

At least five in-state prospects in next year's class seemed to have bought into the message, and have indicated they intend to sign letters of intent with CSU's program in 2013. Gateway tackle Zack Golditch, also the state Class 5A discus champion, was the latest. He joined fellow offensive linemen Jake Bennett of Bear Creek and Blake Nowland of Douglas County, plus Roaring Fork tight end Trae Moxley and Grand Junction defensive end Austin Berk.

Not all has been smooth in the coaching changeover, of course, with McElwain having to deal with fallout from behavioral issues tied to players brought in during the coaching tenure of his predecessor, Steve Fairchild.

"We knew coming into this that there were going to be things that needed to be taken care of," McElwain said in his office this week. "That was part of the process in me taking the job. We knew that. Part of this is creating a culture and creating accountability.

"We need everyone to understand it's a privilege to be part of Colorado State. There are going to be some bumps, and some bumps are going to be bigger than others, but I've made it clear coming in that I want everyone to understand it's an honor to be here."

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